Havajske Ostrovy - Waikiki Beach - Americky Fotbal - Diamantova Hlava

Nas kratky pobyt ve Waikiki byl uplne skvely. V nasem hotelu Park Shore Waikiki, kde jsme se ubytovali jsme misto normalni mistnosti dostali upgrade ( povyseni ) do apartmanu v 16. patre, takze jsme misto malinke mistnosti s oknem a posteli, dostali celkem velky pokoj, s lednickou, mikrovlnkou, kavovarem a cely jidelnim servisem, ktery nam k nicemu moc nebyl, protoze jsme pizzu v mikrovlnce neplanovali, a hlavne naprosto uzasnym velkym balkonem s vyhledem na ocean a take na krater Diamont Head. Hotely ve Waikiki jsou bohuzel vsechny celkem vysoke – zadne male chaloupky na brehu more jak by se libilo nasi Mamce i nam,  asi aby vsechny dovolenkare meli kde ubytovat, ale i tak to bylo fajn, protoze my jsme byli az na samem okraji, takze jsme ani nikomu nekoukali do oken a zrovna meli ten uzasny vyhled na Diamantovou Hlavu.

Hned prvni odpoledne jsem neodolala a musela jsme vyzkouset tu uzasne tyrkysove modrou vodu! Moc hluboka nebyla, takze to spis bylo jen na takove cakani a vyhrivani se na slunicku. Kdyz jsme videla, ze asi 10 metru dal plavou lidi se snochlama, tak mi to nedalo a musela jsem se hned zeptat, co ze to tam vlastne vidi. Kdyz mi jedna pani rekla, ze tam jsou rybky vsech barev a velikosti, tak bylo jasno! Jeste ten vecer, kdyz jsme povecereli v jedne z restauraci pod sirym nebem, kde hrala super havajska kapela, a kde se take najednou vedle nas objevili dva cesi a jedna ceska, tak jsme hned v mistnim obchode ABC koupili dva snorchly a take jeden bodysurf – ten ma asi jen delku jeden metr, abych pripadne na nem mohla lezet a nemusela se telem dotykat tech veleryb, co tam mely byt. Opet jsme meli o dalsi 2 hodiny mene – o 2 mene nez v San Franciscu a tentokrat o 11 hodine mene nez v Cechach a o 10 nez v Anglii -  takze uz kolem 21. hodiny jsme byli zcela unaveni a tak jsme sli odpocivat do hotelu a sbirat sily na dalsi den v tom Havajskem raji.

V patek jsme se cile probudili uz kolem sedme hodiny rano – to opet bylo diky casovemu posunu, takze pro nas bylo vlastne uz devet - posnidali jsme dobrou kavu ve Starbukcsu hned vedle naseho hotelu a pak skoro 2 hodiny sedeli v recepci hotelu a pokouseli nase stesti se pres Skype dovolat domu. To se nam celkem dobre podarilo, Chris se na chvili spojil s Babickou, Tatinkem a i s Maminkou.....ja jsem se take Mamce dovolala a slyselam jsem i Lucu a i Viktorka stale rikala Cau J Tak to bylo moc fajn, i kdyz to spojeni nebylo zcela idealni, ale co byste chteli, kdyz volate pres skype z druheho konce nasi polokoule, byli jsme moc radi, ze se nam to vubec povedlo, tak snad treba zase v Sydney najdeme nejaky signal a bude trochu lepsi nez na Havaji!

Po nasi telefonicke seanci byl jiz cas podivat se, coze to tam v te vode vlastne opravdu je. Vybaveni a radne namazani opalovacim kremem jsme vyrazili na plaz. Nasadili jsme snorchly a vypluli hledat rybky. Ty na sebe dlouho nenechali cekat a hned od kraje nam zacali plavat naproti. Prvne byli malinke, ale pak zacali najednou priplovat jejich vykrmene kamaradky, takze kdyz podemnou proplula asi pul metrova ryba, tak to byl trochu zvlastni pocit, obzvlast, kdyz mezi dnem a mnou bylo pouze asi tak 70cm prostoru. Voda byla opravdu pruzracna, vsak je to snad na fotkach i dobre videt, takze jsme opravdu i tech par metru od brehu, v hloubce, ktera neprekrocila 70 cm, videli ryby, rybky i rybicky cervene, modre, hnede, zelene, pruhovane, s teckama....bylo to super.

Ja jsem skoncila asi po 40 minutach, kdyz jsem mela pocit, ze se mne neco dotklo a mazala jsem na breh, kde jsem pak na skaliskach pozorovala cerne morske kraby. Chris si to uzival jeste o neco dele, tak jsme pozorovala i jeho. Vsechno to bylo skvele, jen kdyz Chris plaval na breh, tak ho spalila malinka, zahava a naprosto pruhledna meduza, takze mel docela osklive popaleni a musel jit za plavcikem, ktery mu to polil octem, takze ted uplne paradne smrdel! Nebylo to velmi vazne, ale bolelo ho to jeste cely den a citil se tak trochu divne, ale ted uz je to zase dobre, tak se o nej nic nebojte. Ony tyhle meduzy jsou pekny potvory, naprosto neviditelne a velmi zahave, takze si na ne take davejte pozor!

Patek byl take predvecer zapasu Americkeho fotbalu, ktery asi na Havaj nezavita moc casto, takze o tom mluvil cely ostrov a take byla na plazi Beach party s zivou kapelou, grilovalo se a pak pozdeji kdyz hudba skoncila tam na velkem platne take bezel celovecerni film se Sandrou Bullock -  myslim ze se to jmenovalo SuperBall – a ano spravne, nebylo to o nicem jinem nez o Americkem fotbaluJ. My jsme na to vsechno meli vyhled primo z naseho balkonu, ale pak jsme take neodolali a sli se podivat primo do mista deni. Kdyz jsme zjistli, ze to mistni a po slunnem vyprahlem dni tolik lakave havajske pivo, tak ale neochutname, jak je vsude v Americe zvykem, nesmite nikde pit jakykoliv alkohol pod otevrenym nebem -  sice o 20 metru dal je restaurace se zahradnou, coz je v poradku, ale kdyz si treba pivo prinesete na plaz, tak to je pekny prusvih a mistni policajti – a ze jich tam teda bylo -  vas muzou treba i zavrit. Takze jsme se rozhodli, ze zahradka o 20 metru dale, kde maji to mistni pivo i mistni specialitky k veceri a take stale s vyhledem na plaz, je to spravne misto a sli to vsechno deni a svitoreni i zapad slunka pozorovat odtamtud. Kdyz vsechno asi kolem pul jedenacte skoncilo, tak jsme se sli projit po plazi a schladit si nozky v jeste stale teplem oceanu. Vyhled na hvezdy byl naprosto idealni, takze jsme se hodnou chvili kochali a snazili se rozpoznat hvezdy a souhvezdi, ktere snad z domu diky nedostatecne tme, snad ani nezname.

Prisla sobota a to byl jiz posledni den, kdy jsme si mohli uzivat toho uzasneho a rozmaniteho ostrova. Vstali jsme proto opet brzy a hned v osm hodin jsme se vydali objevit, co skryva krater Diamantova hlava. Rozhodli jsme se jit pesky uz z naseho hotelu, protoze to nevypadalo tak daleko. Nakonec to pekny kousek byl a trvalo nam skoro hodinu ostre chuze dostat se k upati krateru, odkud byl vystup uz pekne ostry. Bylo okouzlujici pozorovat zelen, kterou ostrov nabizi, tyrkysove modre more i dalsi vrcholky na odvracene strane ostrova, ktere se tycili v dalce. Po asi 25 minutach ostre chuze jsme vysli az na vrcholek, odkub byl opravdu uzasny vyhled temer na cely ostrov Oahu a tak jsme si vsechno dalsich 20 minut vychutnavali, ale pak uz jsme museli upalovat zase zpet.Taze kdyz jsme se radne provetrani a unaveni vratili zpet do hotelu kolem 11.hodiny, byl jiz cas pobalit si veci a vydat se do pristavu, kde na nas mela cekat nase Arcadia!

Chris byl trochu nervozni, protoze nasi lod uz od rana marne vyhlizel a stale ji nemohl ani z vrcholku Diamantova hlavy, odkud bylo opravdu videt skoro vsechno, vubec najit! Na Internetu na strance P&O na mape ( track Arcadia) to vypadalo, jakoze lod je jeste stale na mori, ale nastesti jim asi jen nefungoval radar J Do pristavu jsme se museli vydat taxikem, protoze jsme za tech par dni posbiraly nescetny pocet novych suvenyru vcetne dvou snorchlu a bodyboardu, takze z mistniho autobusu by nas asi vyhodili! Lod uz na nas cekala a po trose cekani a kontrole, zda to jsme opravdu my a nesnazime se propasovat na lod nase pribuzne, jsme se vratili zpatky do nasi kajuty, pocit byl skoro takovy, jako kdyz se vratite z par dni na vyletu zpet domu J Tak skoncil nas mensi vylet a my jsme se mohli na lodi Arcadia vydat vzhuru ci spise dolu na jih vpred dalsim dobrodruzstvim a novym vodam, mistum a zemim!

Last day in Hawaii

We got up early this morning, it wasn't dificult because we're still on San Francisco time which is 2 hours in front.  Our aim was to crack Diamond Head before noon when we had to check out. Diamond Head is an extinct volcano crator which you can climb into and up to the top. It was a good 30 minutes march from the hotel, then a steep climb with lots of steps. Obviously we were prepared, with water, proper shoes and sun cream, but it amazed us how many flip flops we saw. I had a proper sweat on when we reached the top, and this was at 9.30 in the morning, I'd hate to try it during the heat of the day. 

The views from the top were truely impressive.  Lush green mountain sides, sprawling city skyscrapers of Honolulu, and the royal blue Pacific all in one. Close your eyes and imagine it, then marvel at our mobile phones attempt to capture it!  We have better pictures on the proper camera that I'm sure we will bore you with on our return! For now, whilst I'm sat in a water front bar, typing in my phone, it will have to do. It's ok, don't feel sorry for us, we have beers.

So a quick shower and check out, we still couldn't tell for sure if the ship had arrived this morning. The one thing that I had hoped to see from the top of diamond head, was the ship. The ship Webcam was offline too, so couldn't see where it was. But the taxi driver reassured us that she had docked this morning and I was relieved to see her again as we got closer.

Getting back on was a bit more hassle than we'd anticipated but we made it. You see they'd taken our ships cards from us when we got off in SF, so they had to make some calls and reissue them as we waited on the dock. As previously, Katie is not British so she didn't enjoy the wait, nor make friends with the officials :-)

When I have a proper keyboard in front of me, I'll try to describe the feeling of returning after having to think for ourselves.

After a free lunch on board, we headed out again in search of sand and surf. We only found rocks. Nice ones, but rocks none the less.  And that, my friends is what led to us being sat in a bar, on the water front, drinking beers. Not a bad last day.  Dinner on board sounds good tonight, we missed our dinner companions. And the service. And the food. And not having to think too much.

Saturday in Honolulu time to get back home....on Arcadia:-)

We did a hike to Diamond Head this morning and here are a few pictures from the top up there. We found the ship ok in the port and after small hold ups got on....but Chris will tell you more soon about our last few days,so please keep checking this space,we love writing about our small and big advantures and we are very happy you like reading it, especially as my notes can get quite extensive!! Just love writing what is on my mind and in my heart.If you have not already,please ask Mr. google to translate my Chzech post for you! Love Katie xxxx

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Friday in Waikiki

Just having another wonderful day in the lovely island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and we are very greatful for it and very lucky we can be there. We are getting back on Arcadia tomorrow and it will be like coming back home,as all our things are there. However a few new thing will have to find some space in our cabin like 2 bottles of wine from Sonoma valley, 2 snorkels, 42inch bodyboard on which you can stand up and few other bits and pieces that became part of our family and collection in last few days! Sweet and Sunny Aloha to you!

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And few more pics from our 1st day in Waikiki

I am really surprised that the pictures from my phone are uploading so nicely,so let me share the exicitement and upload a few photos I took tonight.I know it is now Friday morning where you are but we only have 22:25,so will be going to bed very soon!!

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Few pictures from Hawai

As we have already got to Hawai, here are some pitures we took on our way to here; 5 hours flight from San Francisco.Enjoy the pics!

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27. leden 2011 – Aloha! Vitejte na Havajskych Ostrovech – Honolulu - Oahu

Po 3 dnech a 3 nocich v uzasnem San Franciscu byl cas pobalit veci a vydat se zase o kousek dal na zapad. O pul devate rano nas vyzvedl minibus,ktery Chris predem objednal, abychom vyrazili na letiste. Nepodarilo se nam najit zadny spoj mestske dopravy, ktera by nas na asi 25km vzdalene letiste odvezl. Chris uz mistni letiste zna celkem dobre, protoze jsem nekolikrat letel do mistniho Motorola ofisu, ale tentokrat jsme jeli na terminal pro vnitrostatni odlety. Ano, i kdyz let na Honolulu trva neco pres 5 hodin, stale se jedna pouze o vnitrostatni americky prelet.

Terminal byl lehce chaoticky a Chris si neodpustil poznamku, ze evropska letiste jsou lepe oraganizovana, ale nakonec se nam celkem nez problemu podarilo odbavit a absolvovat vsechny kontroly. Nic uzasneho v terminalu co by stalo za zminku snad ani nebylo. Jedna s prijemnych veci je, ze muzete na 45 minut vyuzit mistniho bezdratoveho pripojeni, ktere je zdarma. Signal byl celkem slaby, i kdyz jsme se jako spravni geeks snazili stat primo pod antenou! Chris chtel zkusit pomoci Skype zavolat tatkovi do Anglie, ale nakonec jsme pokus museli vzdat. Pak uz byl cas nastoupit na letadlo a musim rict, ze presne podle planu, jsme uz kolem 10:20 nastupovali do letadla. Chris diky svym nalitatym milim mohl zistkat nase letenky skoro zdarma a navic jsme mohli zvolit Economy Plus, coz je predni cast kabiny, kde je trochu vice mista a sedi po stranach jen dva lidi vedle sebe. Letime v Boingu B777 Overwater, to asi ze tohle letadlo umi lepe pristavat na mori, protoze samozrejme krome zeme v San Franciscu a pak zase Honolulu, cely let probiha nad Tichym Oceanem.

Jedna ze zajimavosti co probiha na tomto letu, a pouze na letech United Airline, co letaji na Havaj je hra, ktera se jmenuje: “Uhodni presny cas, kdy budeme presne v pulce letu na Havaj”. Kapitan letadla nam sdelil nasledujici informace: Cas odletu ze SF: 11:10, delka letu: 2144 mil, delka letu v hodinach: 4:56 minut, rychlost: prvni polovina letu: 477 mil za hodinu/ druha polovina letu 474 mil za hodinu, vitr fouka proti nam rychlosti 23 mil za hodinu. Kolik bude presne hodin, az budeme na puli cesty? Pokud vas to zajima, tak toto jsou nase odhady v hodinach, minutach a sekundach: Chris: 13:36:34, Kaca: 13:45:14.

Obavam se vsak, ze moje znalosti z fyziky, specialne s propoctem toho vetru, asi nedopadnou zcela dobre, ale pokud zjistime, co byla spravna odpoved, tak vam to jiste dame vedet.

Takze jen tak pro zajimavost, vitezny cas byl 13:34:42, takze Chris byl opravdu velmi blizko, bohuzel to k viteztvi zcela nestacilo.....

Musim rict, ze se na Honolulu opravdu tesim, uz jsme v letadle zkusili Mai Taj, coz je Havajsky specialni koktejl, tak verim, ze nas privitaji s usmevy a ALOHA na rtech. Je super, ze mame trochu vice casu, nez nasi pratele z Arcadie, kteri dorazi az v sobotu rano a pravdepodobne jsme je uz po ceste nekdy minuli. My mame pul dne dnes ve ctvrek, cely patek a pak i celou sobotu, ze budeme kolem 19.hodiny odplouvat. Az pristaneme, tak bude asi neco po 14.hodine mistniho casu, coz znamena, ze mame presne o 11 hodin mene, nez v vy ted Cechach, coz je naprosto blaznive. Pak uz bude zbyvat asi jen 2-3 posuny o hodinu a pak se najednou objevime o den napred. Jestli to jeste ted nechapete, tak to nevadi, protoze ja zatim taky ne, takze vam o tom povim vice, az se to stane.

24-26. leden 2011 – Par dni ve meste umelcu, poetu, blaznu a nadsencu San Franciscu

Kazde nove misto, kam jste pricestovali naprosto poprve ma sve zvlastni kouzlo a je to zkusenost plna nadseni, trochu strachu a ocekavani. Jiste jste si ono misto nejak vysnili a predstavili ve vasich snech a predstavach, podle obrazku, knizek a zaberu v televizi, ktera jste za ta leta shledli. San Francisco neni jine a pro nekoho, kdo nejakou dobu v Americe zil, ale na Zapad se nikdy nestihl nepodivat, jsou mozna ta ocekavani trochu jina, nez pro nekoho, kde jede do Ameriky naprosto poprve. At uz je to jakkoliv, verte, ze toto mesto snad opravdu nemuze nikoho zklamat. Jak rika nejeden pruvodce “ San Francisco - the city that everyone loves or falls in love with” A ani pro me to nebylo jine. Nezapomente, ze jsem stravila nejaky patek v Chicagu, takze uz i tak meritko pro San Francisco bylo celkem vysoko, protoze podle me, Chicago je jedno z nejhezcich a nejzajimavejsich mest v USA. Uz jen pobrezi kolem jezera Michigan a vyhled z lodi, je naprosto uzasny a nemuzu opomenout bar v 96. podlazi mrakodrapu John Hancock odkud mate cele Chicago jako na dlani, samozrejme nezapomente zajit na damske zachodky, odtud jsou fotky opravdy skvele, Mamca, Mirka a Terka si to jiste pamatuji J

V San Franciscu jsme pristali u mola 35 (Pier 35) v pondeli 24.ledna hned po sedme hodine rano. Pote co imigracni urednici – bylo nam jich prideleno asi 15, coz je pry nad ocekavani skvele, nekdy dostanete jen 3 na celou lod! – nastoupili na lod a usadili se v mistnosti “New Horizonts”, kde za normalniho dne mensi skupinky celkem tak 50 spolupasazeru hraji bridz, a kazdy musel projit kontrolou a setkat se s oficirem z oka do oka. My jsme narazili na Americkeho Cinana, a celkem nas proklepnul, hlavne me, kdyz videl, ze nemam anglicky pas, tak trochu prudil. Pak jsme se mu asi taky zdali trochu mladi byt na zaoceanske lodi, tak chtel mit jistotu, ze nechceme zustat na stalo. Byl by to asi celkem dobry zpusob stehovani se z/do Ameriky, hlavne protoze muzute vzit nalod uplne vsechny veci co chcete. Po imigracni prohlidce jsme si jeste v kajute rychle dobalili nase prirucni zavazadla pro 5 dni a noci mimo nasi lodni zakladnu a vydali jsme se objevovat pristav a prilehle okoli.

Pier 33 je molo,kde parkuji lode co jezdi na ostrova Alkatraz, kde je byvale Americke vezeni - z let 1934-1963, jelikoz jsme sli kolem, koupili jsme si listky na stredu rano, kdy jsme se rozhodli tento ostrov, kde se mimo jine natacel i film Skala, navstivit. Nase dalsi zastavka byl Pier 39, kde je mnoho mistnich restaraci, obchodu ze suvenyry, krasny vyhled na Alkatraz a Golden Gate most a take kde se vyvaluji na molech tuleni! Plovouci pontony pro ne byly specialne vybudovany a lodky a jachty zde nesmeji kotvit. Dobra stovka tulenu se zde vyvalovala, kdyz jsme se zde byli podivat my. Je celkem legracni je pozorovat, jak se hasteri a jak se jejich velka tela svali do vody a najednou jsou z nich cile a mrstne potvurky. Ziji normalne ve volne prirode a pontony jen vyuzivaji k tomu, aby si schrupli na slunicku. Tim, ze jsou zde chraneni a mistni organizace se o ne dobre stara, tak se jejich populace rok od roku z vysuje a i kdyz pry odplouvaji az 500 kilometru daleko, tak se zase vzdy vraci do San Francisca.

Kdyz jsme se dokochali pristavem, vyzvedli jsme si na lodi nase kufriky a vydali jsme se vzhuru dalsim dobrodruzstvim. Ubytovali jsme se v hotelu Adagio nedaleko Union Square – coz je jedno z nejznamnejsich namesti v San Franciscu – a sli se podivat po mistnich obchudkach. Hned z dalky jsem zahledla obrovske Old Navy, takze jsme se tam rozhodne museli zastavit a koupit par hardriku. No preci tam nenechate dziny za $8.00 J . Take jsme navstivili Irskou Restauraci, kde Chris jiz parkrat byl a taky tam slysel skvelou kapelu, kterou pry chtel aby nam hrala na svatbe. Tentokrat tam nikdo nehral, ale i tak atmosfera byla velmi prijemna a tak krome ochutnani mistniho piva Sierra Nevada jsme si dali i neco dobreho k veceri. Protoze to byl pro nas dlouhy den, tak jsme se pomalu rozhodli vratit do hotelu, a ja jen co jsme lehla, tak jsme hned asi kolem 21.hodiny usnula a Chris me po chvili nasledoval. Byl to prijemny den a hlavne teplota byla skvela kolem 20 stupnu na slunicku, coz je pry pro mistni leden neobvykle, takze preci jen to globalni oteplovani bude mit neco do sebe, i kdyz co se tyce Evropy, pak si nejsem zcela jista! J

25. leden 2011 – Muir Park Redwoods a Vinarska Oblast Sonoma Valley

Extranomical Tours Minibus nas v osm hodin rano vyzvedl z nasi hotelove zakladny a meli jsme namireno za dnem plnym novych dobrodruzsvi. Vylety jako tento jsou v San Franciscu celkem typicke a operuji tu ruzne male ci vetsi spolecnosti, Chris tento vylet predem objednal asi 4 dny predem on-line. Nase vyprava se celkem skladala ze 14. ucastiku, pruvodce a ridic Andy, dale skupinka 6 lidi z Chicaga, 2 kamaradky z Chile, Par z Kanady, doktorka z Irska a my dva Chris z Anglie a Kaca z Cech. Kdyz jsme vsechny vyzvedli, tak jsme meli namireno pres Golden Gate most a dale asi 45 minut od San Franciska. V okoli je mnoho kopcu a hor, takze cesta byla celkem zajimava a zcela jiste tocita.

Neco po devate rano hodine jsme dorazili do Narodniho parku Muir Redwoods, kde se nachazejich stromy Redwoods – pribuzne Sekvojim - stromy jsou az 85 metru vysoke a sire kmenu je az 4 metry v prumery. Prumerne stromy v tomto parku jsou 500 – 800 let stare, ale jsou tam i takove, ktere maji vice jak 1000 let! Tak ted si predstavte prochazku mezi temito starecky, ktere uz byli na svete, kdyz Krystof Kolumbus v roce 1492 objevil Ameriku a nektere pamatuji pocatek druheho tisicileti. Jiste maji pribehy, ktere bohuzel ale nikdy nepovi, protoze zatim zadny clovek moc dobre nemluvi reci stromu. Diky tomu, ze jsme prijeli velmi brzy, nebylo tu jeste mnoho navstevniku, a tak jsme si mohli pekne vychutnat ticho, bublani mistniho potucku a sepotani stromu. Preci jen je leden, takze priroda lehce odpocivala, ale i tak vsechno bylo krasne zelene a bylo co pozorovat. Asi po hodine a pul kochani se, foceni a pokusu udelat nejaky document na nasi videokameru byl cas vyjet o kousek dale a presunout se do oblasti vina, kde se v tuto chvili nachazi asi 600 samostatnych vinic.

Hned po vyjezdu z narodniho parku na temer pod kola skocilo asi 15 divokych krocanu! Nevim,zda jste neco takoveho nekdy videli, ja tedy ne a mela jsem chvilku pocit, ze jsem nekdy v praveku! Byly to pekne velky mrchy, skoro tak vysoke jak dospely pstros a jeste trochu macatejsi. Ted si tak rikam, ze ta pulka, co jsi mamko na Vanoce koupila co mela tech 12 kilo, jestli on to nakonec nebyl baby divoky krocan, protoze tihle macici museli mit tak kolem 50kilo minimalne! Cesta pokracovala celkem poklidne bez dalsiho setkani s mistni zvirenou, i kdyz Andy nas varoval pred divocaky a muflony. Asi po 40 minutach jizdy jsme dorazili do nasi prvni vinice “Vallejo”, kde jsme prvne obdivovali rozsahle vinice a pak uz byla ochutnavka 5 vin, po ktere nam rekli, ze to byla jen takova presnidavka a ze ted muzeme jit do hlavni budovy a ochutnat cokoliv. Vybrali jsme jeste asi dve vina a nakonec jsme si i jednu lahev bileho”Vallejo” koupili. Mysleli jsme na nase pratele, co uz se zase plavi na mori, a ze by bylo hezke neco jim z nasi cesty privezt, takze mame co otevrit u vecere, az se vratime na lod. Po prvni ochutnavce uz nam pekne krucelo v brisku, takze jsme meli zastavku v malebnem mestecku Sonoma, podle ktereho je pojmenovano cele udoli, druha cast udoli se zase jmenuje Napa Valley, ktere je mozna znamejsi co se vin tyce Evrope. Sonoma byla proslunena a tak jsme se rozhodli dat si polevku v Sunflower Café, coz je krome café take restaurace a umelecka galerie, takze jsme skloubili obed i s kulturou. Pokud jej chcete alespon virtualne navstivit, tak mrknete na: www.sonomasunflower.com , a uvidite treba i zahradku, kde my jsme prave meli nas obed. Pak jsme si prosli i namesti a navstivili obchod, ktery se jmenuje “Cheesecake Factory”, a zde muzete zdarma ochutnat asi 15 druhu syru. Nejlepsi podle me byl syr stredozemnich chuti a nejzajimavejsi byl zase Levandulovy Jack, ale bylo to celkem dobre, treba by to mohl byt novy zajimavy vyrobek a navic levandule je pry dobra pro zazivaci system, tak s tim treba i v Cechach a v Anglii prorazime na trh!

Po prijemne obedova zastavce v Sonome nas cekala dalsi zastavka ve vinici, ktera ma tradici jiz od roku 1906 a kterou vlastni nemecka rodina Kunde. Oblast teto vinice byla opravdu velika, ukazali nam i kde skladuji sudy a pak vysvetlili, ze jeden prazdny sud stoji asi $350 dolaru a jsou vyrabene z Madarskeho a Francozskeho dubu – tyto sudy jsou jeste drazsi - a pak z Americkeho dubu. Nejlepsi vino je pry ale z techto dvou evropskych dubu. No nevim, ale jak nemecky pristup tak vino z dubu nas nejak zvlast nezaujalo a tak po kratke ochutnavce 5 vin jsme si radeji sedli ven na slunicko a zadny business z nas tentokrat nedostali…! Ted jsme jen doufali, ze to nejlepsi nas ceka nakonec, protoze nas cekala jeste jedna vinice.

Tentokrat se jednalo o Italskou Rodinu Jacuzzi, ktera mimo jine stoji za vynalezem vyrivky nebo-li Jacuzzi! Budova se stylu Italske vily z pocatku 20. stoleti – pouze vsak postavena asi pred 2 lety – pusobili velmi pratelsky. Pani Zena, co se nas ujala, a jeji rodina puvodne pochazela z Chorvatska a do italske rodiny se privdala, byla velmi pratelska a po klasicky 5-ti ochutnavkach nam s usmevem na tvari nabidla i jejich sampanske a desertni cervene vino, obe byla velmi lahodna. Ve vedlejsi mistnosti jeste byla ochutnavka olivovych oleju. Pokud jsme si az do ted mysleli jako ja, ze vsechny preci chutnaji stejne, tak ted je ten moment se presvedcit o svem omylu. Na ochutnavku zde bylo asi 7 zakladnych druhu, dale 5 ovocnych – pomeranc, limetka, citron, merunka a mandarinka a 4 s prisadami – cesnek a bazalka, oregano a parmazan, cibule a ocet, tymian. Nekolik jsme samozrejme museli ochutnat, ale nakonec to preci jen vyhralo vino a s naruzovelou lahvi Pinot Grigio – Rulandske Sede – a 4 kamennymi Jaccuzi podtacky jsme se nalodili zpet do naseho Exranomickeho busiku.

Den se pomalu blizil ke konci a my se museli vydat zpet do San Francisca. Diky tomu, ze jsme si vsichni chovali slusne a bylo jeste dost casu, mohli jsme se zastavit na vyhlidkovem bodu, odkud byl naprosto kouzelny vyhled na Golden Gate Bridge. Bonus byl to, ze jsme tam dorazila akorat pred zapadam slunce, takze se nam podarilo zachytit znamy most i prilehle okoli velmi krasne a bez klasicke mlhy, kterou v San Franciscu muzete potkat temer kazdy den v roce. Kdyz jsme se dost nakochali, jeste jsme si most jednou projeli zpet do San Francisca a pak uz byl cas nas navratit zpet do hotelu. Podekovali jsme Andymu, byl skvely pruvodce a temer stale a cely den nas o necem informaval, co je kolem nas, o historii o vinicich, prohibici proste zcela o vsem. Byl to opet uzasny den plny zazitku. Zvladli jsme jeste zajit na neco maleho k veceri. Porce v Americe jsou zabijejici, takze vetsinou pulka vasi porce zustane na taliri. Zjistili jsme ze na lodi jime mnohem zdraveji i kdyz casteji, takze se tam o nas dobre staraji. Opet nezbyl cas napsat zazitky, protoze jsme po narocnem dni ulehli a za kolibani vln ( ja se kolebam uplne stale, asi jen v mem mozku, ale proste je to tam ted zafixovane) jsem odpluli do nasich snu.

26. leden 2011 - Alkatraz - Pevnost na ostrove a Americke vezeni v letech 1934-1963

Jak uz jste videli z fotek, co jsme stihli pridat, byli jsme ve stredu navstivit Alkatraz. Byla to velice zajimavy a trochu mrazivy zazitek. Urcite to za navstevu stalo a uz ze jsme si jen mohli zase uzit trochu lode a zvyknout si na to co nas ceka za par dni.

Natocili jsme nejake video a udelali par fotek, ale pokud vas opravdu zajima historie Alkatrazu, tak bud doporucuji navstevu a nebo se podivejte na tento link: http://www.nps.gov/alca

Alkatraz je urcite jedna z veci, ktera urcite stoji za navstevu a pokud se zpatky do San Francisca zase nekdy podivame, tak urcite znovu navstivime :-)

Greetings from San Francisco

The view from Alcatraz Island with the Golden Gate in the background

The (dark) view from the top of Lombard St, the most crooked road in SF!

Today, we'd booked a trip out to Alcatraz, and made our way to Fisherman's Wharf by way of cable car, a first for both of us!  Here are a few pics from our day out...

Thinking for ourselves

We made it to San Francisco and the ship has left us.  We're on our own now, and we're having lunch in Sonoma Valley, north of SF, before doing some more wine tasting, lovely weather.

21. leden 2011 – Seznameni s lodnim doktorem a navsteva nemocnice

Nase lod ma asi 2100 pasazeru a asi 900 clenu posadky, coz uz jsem mozna zminila v mych predchozich zapiscich, co jsem vam ale jeste neprozradila je to, ze pouze asi jedna tretina asi 650 cestovatelu jede uplne celou cestu kolem sveta. Ti ostatni jedou treba jen z Anglie do San Francisca a pak se vraci letadle zpet do Anglie. Nebo treba cestuji ze San Franciska do Sydney, ci ze Sydney do Honkongu a nebo z Honkongu do Bombaje a nebo z Bombaje do Anglie. Podle mych internich zdroji nas v San Franciscu opousti asi 400 pasazeru a 450 nastupuje, coz znamena, ze nas bude na lodi ted o trochu vice a muzeme potkat zase nove zajimave lidicky.

Ve stredu 19. ledna den pred pristanim v Akapulku byla polovina pasazeru, co cestuji kolem celeho sveta pozvana na specialni obed, pozvani kapitanem Ianem Walterem a jeho posadkou. My jsme meli stul cislo 62 pro 6 osob hned u okna – nas normalni stul je 52 – takze jsme byli napjati s kym, ze se to tentokrat setkame. Stul 62 byl prostred pro sedm osob. 4 mista byla jiz obsazena dvema pary, ktery mohlo byt tak kolem 75 let. Za nedlouho jsme zjitili ze jeden par je z Nemecka a druhy z Belgie a vsichni meli 50 let vyroci od svatby! To jsme to chytli, ale nastesti se jednalo jen o jeden obed. Bavili se skoro celou dobu mezi sebou nemecky a stezovali si, jak vsechno je na lodi anglicke a jak jsou vsechny aktivity v anglictine, no nevim, co se divi, kdyz P&O je anglicka spolecnost, to si meli holenkove vybrat nejak Der Juvenghert, kdyz si chteli sprechtit po svojem. Nastesti sedme misto obsadil prijemny lodni doktor Johan Bernard puvodem z Jihoafricke Republiky, ktery atmosferu u stolu trochu rozptylil. Dali jsme se s nim doreci a zjistili, ze je na nasi lodi pouze stejne dlouho jako my, ale pro P&O pracuje jiz 10 let. Kdyz byl pred Vanocemi na lodi Oriana, tak dokonce zazil jeden predcasny porod – jednalo se o Filipinku, ktera tam pracovala a nikomu o tom nerekla - a to ani netusil, ze bude rodit dvojcata! To se pry ale stave jen jednou za zivot a navic to byl jeho prvni porod. Jelikoz jsme se o cast nemocnice velmi zajimali, tak nas Johan pozval na prohlidku lodni nemocnice.

Takze jsme nelenovali a hned den po Akapulku jsme nabidku prijali a prisli se podivat, jak to tam vypada a jak to chodi a co tam vlastne maji. Na prvni pohled to vypada jako u normalniho doktora. Na lodi pracuji dva doktori a ctyri sestry, maji rentgen, pristroje na rozbor krve, pristroje pro pripad infarktu, opticky pristroj na mereni zraku, vsechny mozne leky, 3 samostatne pokoje pro pripad, ze by nekdo musel zustat na luzku lezet, proste v nekterych ohledech mozna lepsi nez v kdejake nemocnici. Takze nam vsechno ukazal a vysvetlil, ucet nam nastesti nevystavil, byla to jen pratelska navsteva. Je dobre vedet, co na lodi mame pro pripad potreby, ale snad nebudeme jeho sluzby potrebovat. Marnici nam zatim neukazal a nemeli jsme ani odvahu se na to zeptat. Po pravde ale ani moc radeji nechci vedet, kde je. Zatim jsme zadnych “Kod Alfa” v lodnim rozhlase neslyseli, tak jsou vsichni zivi a zdravi! Sice pry byly asi dva infarkty, ale oba pacienti to prezili a jen museli byt vylozeni na Barbadosu. Tak nam prejte, at nam i vsem ostatnim zdravi moc preje a nemocnici navstevujeme jen za prateli! J

20. leden 2011 – Acapulco Mexico a zelvicky Jirka a Amalka!

Ve ctvrtek jsme opet dorazili na pevninu a tentokrat nase zastavka byla Acapulco, zname pro nataceni mnoha filmu a take diky krasnemu morskemu a hronatemu pobrezi. Mimo jine zde maji sve rezidence zname celebrity jako je Silvestr Stalone ( Jeho dum se mi podarilo natocit na kameru), Robert Redford, Elizabeth Taylor, Margaret Tacher nebo Enrique Iglesias. Nas do tohoto mesta mnoha tvari privital krasny oranzovy vychod slunce a hned po devate hodine jsme byli v pristavu, kde jsme se vydali autobusem na vyjizdku kolem mesta a vypustit nase zelvicky.Tedy ja rikam nase, ale ty nam meli byt prideleny teprve az na miste.

Ve vsech pristavech zatim vylodeni bylo vzdy velmi jednoduche, ani v jednou pristavu jsme nepotrebovali nikomu ukazovat pas, jen jsme se vydali na breh s nasi kartickou od pokoje, takze to velmi zjednodusuje vystup i nastup, ze jste usetreni radne pasove kontroly. Bohuzel tim clovek neziska zadne razitko do pasu, ale to zas neni takova tragedie. Horsi to bude v San Francisku, kde celou lod imigracni urednici radne potrapi a dokud kazdeho neuvidi z oka do oka, tak nikoho nepusti na breh, takze to bude tak 3 hodiny zdrzeni, jeste ze zustavame par dni dele, jinak bychom si toto jak rika pruvodce “vsech nejoblibenejsi mesto” ani radne neuzili! Ale zustanme jeste chvilku v Acapulcu 

Vypousteni zelvicek do sireho more se ukazalo jako velmi popularni vylet, protoze byl jiz nekolik dni pred pristanim zcela benadejne vyprodan a my jej nastesti objednali jeste nez jsme se na cestu vubec vydali. Autobus nas provezl celym mestem a meli jsme nekolik zastavem, abychom stihli stravit krajinu kolem nas. Acapulco je celkem kopcovite a na jeho pozadi se tyci Andy. Opravdu se nedivim, proc tu bylo zasazeno tolik scen z ruznych filmu, protoze skloubeni more a pisecnych plazi s horami na pozadi je opravdu moc hezke.

Kdyz jsme dorazili do Plazoveho klubu Elcanto Diamante Beach Club a na plaz, kde jsme meli vypouste zelvicky, privitali nas ovocnym drinkem a pak nam Monica a Juan – kteri jsou oba biologove – vysvetlili vse kolem techto zviratek, od toho jak sbiraji vejce, ktera by jinak z velke casti byla snedena ptaky, jak se zelvicky vyklubou a pak je musi poslat na cestu morem, vetsinou z 1000 zelvicek co poslou do sveta pouze asi 5 dosahne dospelosti! Maji dlouhou cestu, prvne musi uplavat asi 40 kilometru a pak nasednou na proud, ktery je odveze nekam do Atlantiku. Presne tak jak je to ve filmu Hledani Nema, takze jestli si tu uz nepamatujete, jak tam zelvy cestuji, tak na to mrknete . Behem sve dlouho cesty potkaji mnoho nepratel, tazke neni divu, ze mnoho z nich nestihne dospet. Po sedmi letech se pry vrati zpatky na plaz, kde poprve okusili more, nikdo nevi, jak to zpatky najdou, ale proste asi maji maly radar a ted je zase doveze zpet do jejich domoviny. Take teprve az jim je asi 3-4 roky tak lze rozpoznat jejich pohlavi, takze jim musite dat dve jmena, aby az dospeji, tak se nemuseli stydet pred svymi kamarady!

Chris a Ja jsem kazdy dostali jednu zelvicku a bylo to naprosto nepopsatelne drzet jemne mezi palce a ukazovackem toto male stvoreni! Vetsina z nich je asi 24-48 hodin stara, takze chapete, ze jsou to uplne malinka miminka! Musite je prvne chvilku jemne pomazlit, pak je nechat ucitit morsky vzduch, pak jim poseptate jejich jmeno - Chris mel Jirika ci Jirinku a moje se jmenovala Amalka nebo Amal  - a pak je postavite asi 3 metry od more a oni si sami musi najit cesticku. Je to uzasne, velmi dojemne a taky trochu smutne divat se jak se nemotorne potaceji smerem k more, ktere take muze byt jejich zkazou, ale to je jejich udel, takze jen musime doufat, ze se tem nasim capartum nic spatneho nestane. Jeste dlouho jsme je pozorovali jak si razi cesticku pres vlny. Maji v brisku zasobu jidla na sedm dni a pak se musi zacit starat o sebe sami. My jsme rekli Jirikovi a Amalce aby na sebe davali pozor a tak snad to dobre dopadne a my je v roce 2018 budeme moci prijet zkotrolovat. Pokud se nekdy vydate do Mexika, urcite se na toto misto musite podivat a s vasim zelvickama se potkat a pomoci je vypustit do prirody. Jsou totiz ohrozeny druh, tak potrebuji tu nejvetsi ochranu. Kdyz vyrostou, tak budou mit asi 1-1,5 metru a muzou se dozit asi az 90 let, takze vidite, ze to za to stoji.

Po ceste zpet jsme se nechali vyhodit ve meste abychom si mohli trochu uzit atmosferu a nadychat se mistni kultury. Brozdali jsme se po plazi, v mistnim baru ochutnali pravou mexickou coronu s celou limetkou, bylo nam na plazi nabidnuto vse od sperku, tricek, slunecnich bryli, hodinek, vodnich sportu a masazi, takze jsme museli slusne spanelsky odmitat “no gracias”. Take jsme se zastavili ve sportovkach a ja si konecne mohla koupit balon na basket, takze ten mame sveho pana “Wilsona” takze snad nikde neztroskotame ani ho nevyhodime omylem z lodi a budeme si s nim moci hrat!

Byl to opet skvely den, plnych novych a neopakovatelnych veci. Kdyz byl cas opustit Acapulco, sedeli jsem na nasem oblibenem miste u bazenu Aquarius a pozorovali, jak se krajina vzdaluje a pomalu ztraci a za zvuku pisni a zare slunce jsme se vydali nasi dalsi cestu a vzhuru novym dobrodruzstvim.

Acapulco

After 2 more days at sea, we arrived into Acapulco at about 8.30am. We'd booked an excursion already so we met in the theatre to be given a sticker and a lollipop and were told to walk hand in hand to the waiting coaches. After a couple of picture stops we arrived at a beautiful beach club resort where we'd be releasing baby turtles into the wild. They had been bred in captivity and were given a helping hand by a charity. You might be able to see a photo in Katie's blog post, but they were tiny things, quite cute too. We had to name them, and let them smell the sea before releasing one each onto the beach before they entered the sea a few meters later. Mine was George or Georgina, Katie's was Amal or Amalka. You can't tell their sex until they are 3 years old so you have to give them 2 names so they don't get teased!

After a really nice Mexican lunch and a couple of obligatory Corona beers, we could relax for a while before returning to town. We decided to ask the coach to drop us off in the town so we could walk back slowly to the ship. So we spent the afternoon walking along the beach and stopping for the odd beer here and there. It was hot but not as humid as it was in the Caribbean.

In the main, the Mexican people seemed very friendly. We must have said "No Gracias" about 50 times as people tried to sell things, but they were not too persistent, leaving you alone. The city itself is not the celebrity haven it once was, although there are some lovely houses with beautiful views, it also has a scruffy feel in places, much many other cities i guess. There is also a lot of development still going on with new golf courses, resort accommodation etc.

I blame the Captain!

A couple of days ago, we received a note in our “post box” just outside the cabin, to invite us to drinks with the Captain.  He requested “the pleasure of our company” and the drinks were free so how could we refuse?  It started at 8pm, only 30 minutes before our dinner sitting, so we got ready for dinner (only a casual night tonight) and headed forward for the reception.  It was quite a personal affair, I would estimate around 30 other people, all of us standing around under the stars, on a warm evening.  We got chatting to a First Officer, a relatively young Finnish guy who had only just joined P&O after being Captain on other passenger and cargo ships.  As the wine kept being presented to us, we ended up talking exclusively to him for a full hour, the captain doing the rounds, saying hello and making sure we were all happy every now and then.  Very pleasant indeed!  We turned up 30 minutes late to dinner, and jumped straight to the main course, and afterwards headed to the top deck where a party was in full swing.  Every now and then, a deck party is held in the open deck bar at the aft of the ship, and so far they’ve been good fun.  Usually a live band will play, and DJ Rob will fill in.  As we walked in, we saw that the First Officer we were talking to earlier was also there.  After a few more drinks, he was dancing with us too, throwing some impressive shapes, and I think we have another good ally now in the officers circle!!  The night got messy after midnight, DJ Rob jumped into the pool, wearing his themed 60s/70s outfit, and Katie met a lovely girl, who ultimately turned out to be a bad influence – in the nicest possible way!  

Well, the combination of free wine from earlier in the evening, warm weather and good music mixed very well, and after Katie and her new friend ended up in the pool still in their dresses, I couldn’t resist either (the pool, not the dresses).  Well, you have to try everything once!  I took off my shoes and emptied my pockets first of course, I’m not that impulsive!  Jean threatened to join us all, but in the end, just took photos of us making fools of ourselves!  Afterwards, we squelched and dripped our way back to the room, and collapsed into bed.  So far today, we haven’t been recognized, or had any official “inappropriate behaviour” letters under the cabin door!!

18. leden 2011 – Arcadia “A” factor a sampanske s Kapitanem lodi.

Utery bylo pro nas open na mori, ale verte ci ne, mozna jsem si to ani chvilku neuvedomili. Chris mel na 10.hodinu namireno do Piano Baru, co ze bar v Atriu, kde jsou schody a co spojuji 3 podlazi a pak tam je Piano, kde obcas nekde hraje a samozrejme take bar. Mela tam probiha nejaka beseda, o tom jak Arcadie funguje a jak je mozne, ze toto obrovske monstrum je vlastne schopne plavby. Nakonec to vubec nebyla beseda ani prednaska, coz bylo jeste lepsi. Kazde oddeleni na lodi melo svuj stanek, kde vzdy byl nekdo s posadky, a neco predvadeli a lide se mohli zeptat na vsechny mozne otazky. My jsme asi nejvice casu stravili u technickeho oddeleni, kde jsme zjistili, ze nase lod ma 6 motoru, kazdy asi o velkosti delky celeho naseho domu. Byli jsme schopni zjistit, jak to vsechno zapada do sebe a jak to funguje, to ze zasobnich nafty ma kapacitu 3185 tun, a ze pokud bychom se plavili ekonomicky, asi 15 uzlu – momentalne jedeme asi 23 – tak by toto vystacilo na 10 tisic namornich mil. Rocni rozpocet na provoz Arcadie pro rok 2011 je asi 200 milionu dolaru, takze si dovedete predstavit, ze to neni zadna levna zalezitost, zivit tech 6 obrovitanskych motoru!

Dale jsme se bavili s lidmi, co jsou odpovedni za stravu, protoze nas zajimalo jak jsme schopni stale zivit 2000 pasazeru a 1000 clenu posadky. Manazer kuchyne rekl, ze denne spotrebujeme as 11 tun potravin, vsechno co jsme za poslednich 14dnu jedli, bylo stale zasoby z Anglie. V Americe neco malo budeme nakupovat, a v dalsich pristavech, jen neco malo lokalnich potravin. Kontejner s jidlem byl poslan do Sydney, kde ho nabereme. Pitna voda i uzitkova se prevazne vyrabi na lodi, odslanovanim morske vody. Neskutecne mnozstvi neuveritelnych informaci, ktere jsme za za hodinu a pul zjistili. Take jsem se seznamili s Hansem,ktery je Finska a je 1. oficirem, coz je o dve fuknce niz hned pod kapitanem. Nejsem si jista, jak jsou ty terminy tech fukci cesky, budu si to muset vyhledat na Internetu, az se nam nekdy podari normalne pripojit. Hans mel na starosti simularor, a lide si mohli zkusit ridit Arcadii, a take nam rekl, ze pry ty vlny, co jsme potkali nebyli12 metru, tak se siri po lodi, ale pry jen asi 9 metru, takze to nas vazne uklidnil. Hned vedle byl zase stanek s vecmi, ktere muzete najit v zachranem clunu, na den je pridel 2x50ml vody a jedna susenka, ktera je pry pekne hnusna, tak doufam, ze to nebudeme muset vyzkouset! Bylo to opravdu zajimave dopoledne.

Po obede jsem zjistili, ze musime zacit pomalu neco prat, takze jsem vyzkouseli mistni pracku i susicku, ktere jsou uplne super, a ze susicky je to zrovno i skoro jak vyzehlene, takze to staci jen poskladat. Chris se pak vydal do divadla Palladium, kde byl rozhovor s kapitanem a ja jsem sla tukat golfove micky do sitky, takzvane Golf Nests, a pak jsem si zahazela na kos, sice tu neni poradny basketbalovy balon, ale i tak to hriste je celkem fajn, tak se podivam, zda nejaky sezenu v Acapulku, celkem by se hodil, at si muzeme poradne zahrat. Cely kurt je zasitovat, takze se neni treba bat, ze budete mice a micky hledat v mori, i kdyz uz se to jednem specialistum pri hrani kriketu podarilo. Da se tam take hrat tenis, volejbal, basketbal nebo kriket.

Kdyz jsme se zase s Chrisem sesli na pokoji, byl cas vyrazit do posilovny a poradne vypotit to co se dalo, myslim, ze jsem poradne vypotili vsechny kalorie co se daly. Chris dokonce z okna posilovny pry videl delfina, ale nestihl bohuzel vyfotit. Takze kdyz jsme se prochazeli po posilovne po Decku 10, tak jsem se snazili neco najit v mori, protoze bylo tak klidne, ze cokoliv se by bylo bile to by znamenalo nejakou rybu ci rybku. My videli jen jednu malou letajici, takze musime pozorovat more casteji a dele.

Pro dnesni vecer jsme byli pozvani na kapitanovu party, ktera byla pro uzavrenou spolecnost, ktera byla asi pro 30 lidi. Takze jsme se hodili do Gala a vyrazili na 10 podlazi, kde jsme byli privitani kapitanem Ianem a vsechny jeho officiry. Nas se ujal oficir Hans, se kterym jsem se dali do reci jiz rano. Ted me napadlo, ze prvni oficir, tak to by asi mohl by prvni porucik? Vazne nevim, budu to muset vygooglovat! Hans je z Finska a pro P&O pracuje teprve 3. tyden, takze je temer novacek jako my. No, byl pry kapitan na jinych lodich a na mori stravil jiz pres 20 let, takze asi zas takovy zelenac neni. S nim jsme stravili celou hodinu, behem ktere se mi podarilo vypit 5 slenicek sampanskeho. Kapitan platil a Hans nam podaval dalsi sklenicky, takze to preci nemuzeme odmitnout a urazit sefa domu. Nasi spolustolovnici pozvani nebyli, takze kdyz jsme se po devate hodine dotavili na veceri, takze se to neobeslo bez poznamek. Toto jeste nebyl konec party, protoze v Aquarius baru na decku 9, dnes byla 60. a 70. leta party, ziva kapela Powerhouse, kde mimo jine zpiva zpevacka Gi-Gi, se kterou ted chodim kolem 4. hodiny odpoledne na kafe! Takze jsme preci nemohli jit spat. A bylo to celkem dobre rozhodnuti, protoze nezapomente, ze jsme tu jedni z nejmladsich pasazeru, tak i tak party to byla poradna. Myslim, ze Chris neco zminil v jeho anglickem blogu, takze to radeji nebudu dale rozvadet a prectete si to sami. Chris mel radost, ze jsem ho seznamila s Jamie ( neboj Kendy ne nas Jamie....) ktery je Bar Manager, pry je vzdy dobre byt v dobre pomeru s nekym, kde ma nas starosti bar. Tak uvidime, zda krome toho jednoho drinku na ktery pozval me, jeste z toho nejake dalsi v budoucnu budou.

Den se pro nas skoncil az kolem 3. hodiny rano, ale kdyz pocasi je tak skvele a zabava dobra, tak proc chodit u prostred Ticheho oceanu spat se slepicemi, ze? Streda bude velmi klidna, az na specialni obed, ktery je pro vsechny, co pluji kolem sveta. Musime se pripravit na Acapulco, kde budeme cely den v ctvtek. Mame naplovanovany jeden vylet, ale o tom vam asi povim zase az zitra. V tuto chvili je streda asi 20:20 mistniho casu a za chvili jdeme na veceri. Zitra se nam cas opet posouva o jednu hodinu do zadu, takze budeme oproti Ceske republice minus 7 hodin. Doufame, ze vsechno je v poradku a ze nemate moc velkou zimu a mraz. My vas zdravime ze stabilnich 27 stupnu Celsia, ktere jsou opravdu moc prima a nevim, jak si budeme zase zvykat na zimu. V pondeli nas pak ceka San Francisko, kde bude navrat zpet do 10-15 stupnu, takze se zase trochu ochladime. Takze zdravime Vas z Pacifiku a posilame pozdravy od vsech dobrych lidi z male plovouci vesnicky Arcadie J

Panama Canal...a few photos

As with all ports and places of interest that we call at, there is a talk given in the theatre to give us some background and history, and the same was true of the Panama Canal. In the days preceding our transit, a certain amount of hype was being generated which I succumbed to by setting my alarm extra early on the morning of our arrival.  Actually, neither of us had slept that well the night before (unusual, as we are both sleeping better than at home) and I put that down to being excited!  So I got up at 6.30 in anticipation of securing a good spot on deck at the front of the ship and left Katie in bed, still dozing!  Such was the hype around the visit that space on the decks was going to be at a premium, especially if you wanted to get an un-interrupted view.  For a few days, we’d scoped out a small deck right at the front of the ship, above the bridge, and earmarked it as being the best place to watch.  It ticked all the boxes, it was right at the front, it didn’t have any glass obstructions and it was always deserted with it being relatively difficult to find, you had to go to the gym to know it was there.  I’d also decided to wear swimming trunks so that I could sit out any tropical downpours and remain in my prime spot regardless of weather.

So at 7am I walked the entire length of the ship, camera, sun cream and cap in hand.  As I got closer to our special deck, the ship was still quiet, both in numbers of people around, and also because we were crawling along at 2 knots.  The anticipation of who might already be there, if anyone, was almost making me break into a run.  Well, as you might have already guessed, we weren’t the only ones to have earmarked this particular spot, about 50 other people also knew it was there, and had also decided to get up extra early to claim their space.  Still, there were a few small gaps at the front to squeeze into, even on this “small” deck it could easily accommodate more people.

It was early morning, the sun hadn’t yet gained its full strength and was still obscured by clouds, so it was still only the kind of hint of warm you get on an early summers morning in the UK.   The air was still, and despite the number of people, it was quiet.  I liken the atmosphere on that deck at that time as being similar to a solar eclipse experience.  Everyone was there for the same reason, we were all looking in the same direction in anticipation of this “event” yet we had no control of how quickly it was going to happen, or what it would be like when we got there.  Yet the slow, gradual progress of the ship ensured that we knew it was inevitable.  Quite magical really.

The canal consists of 3 sets of locks, and we were first approaching Gatun Locks.  These are a set of 3 individual lock chambers, that would lift the ship 3 times, until it reached the height of the Gatun Lake (26 meters above our current sea level), through which we’d sail for a few hours until we reached the other locks on the Pacific side where the process was reversed.  It took us about 10 hours in total to get from one side to the other.  The operation runs 24 hours a day, providing both passenger and cargo ships a significant time and money saving to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.  The alternative route would be to travel right around the southern tip of South America.  The time and fuel savings for a shipping company that it provides are considerable.  So much so, that the canal charged P&O $300,000 for us to use it on Monday.   

As we approached, you could see other ships in front of us being lifted by the locks.  It is quite an unusual site to see a huge container ship, 10 meters higher than you, and then another in the next lock, 10 meters higher still.  I tried to capture as much as possible on the camera, but I’m not sure how well it conveys the perspective.  I would have liked to get a picture of Arcadia from ashore to try to capture the scale of the ship against the surroundings of the canal but we were not allowed ashore during the transit.

As you might imagine, the skill required to maneuver a ship of Arcadias size into the locks, is not inconsiderable.  For that reason (and possibly insurance reasons!) a Panama Canal pilot boards the ship and stays with it for the entire transit.  It becomes his or her job to control the ship once in the locks and to coordinate the “mules” (like small locomotive engines that run on a track each side) which attach to each side of the ship to control the speed and sideways movement.  Arcadia needs 8 mules in total to do this, and with less than 50cm of space between ship and concrete wall on each side, the operation is very precise and very slow!

So, as we made progress through the first couple of locks, things at the front of the ship got quieter, and we decided to take up position on our balcony at the aft for a different perspective.  It was a great position to watch from, because we are on a lower deck, and therefore closer to the action.  After the initial excitement, we had some breakfast and the shower that we’d missed earlier.  It was now very hot and humid again, so a shower was really only offered temporary relief.  Most of the day was spent sailing across Gatun Lake, we passed several dredging operations with huge barges ready to take away the silt from the bottom of the lake.  Finally we reached the locks on the Pacific side, and returned to our balcony with a couple of friends and a bottle of Champagne.  Many others had a similar idea, and the aft of the ship became like a mini party zone, each balcony hosting several other people, and previously unseen neighbours being introduced.   We popped the champagne as we cleared the last lock and emerged into the Pacific Ocean.  It was a truly unique day, one which we may never be able to repeat.  We’re both so impressed by what we saw, from an engineering and structural point of view but also from the atmosphere that was apparent on board, it was a great party day!

17. leden 2011 – Plavba Panamskym kanalem

Chrisovi se vcera po pulnoci mistniho casu – ktery je momentalne o sest hodin mene nez v Cechach – konecne podarilo dostat na Internet a nahrat par fotek z asi 250 co jsme vyfotili behem nasi vcerejsi plavby. Ja jsem natocila asi hodinu videa, takze az to vsechno sestrihame, doufam, ze Ceska Televize rada odkoupi nas dokumentarni film! Byl to naprosto skvely zazitek, az jsem se z toho pozorovani zdymadel, techniky, jezer, zkoumani brehu a hledani krokodylu a opicek, trochu pripalila. Ze by byla sance se jednou nevratit z teplych krajin bila?

Den zacal poradne brzy, prvne jsme se probudili kolem 5.hodiny, protoze se lod tak divne pohupovala, vysli jsme na balkon a videli, ze jsou jeste krasne videt hvezdy. Venuse zarila tak jak jeste nikdy predtim jsem ji nevidela. V dali jsme videli dalsi lode a my jsme se pohybovali kupredu jen velmi pomalu. To znamenalo, ze jsem velmi blizko Panamskeho pruplavu. Jeste na dve hodinky jsem sli spat a Chris uz v sedm hodin byl vypraven s fotakem a vyrazil na prid najit misto, odkud budeme vse moci pozorovat. Protoze vsechno probiha velmi pomalu, kdyz jsem kolem osme hodiny dorazila za nim, tak jsme akorat zacali vplouvat do prvniho zdymadla. Vsechno to byla prace milimetru a je jen tezke uverit, jak jsme byli schoponi se tam vejit. Osm “mules” co jsou takove masinky, bylo pripevneno k lodi a ty nas pomalu ale jiste vtahli dovnitr. Cekali nas 3 zdymadla nahoru, takze asi kolem 10.hodiny jsme jimi propluli a cekalo nas jezero Gatun, ktere spojuje atlatickou a tichomorskou cast, a my jsme si konecne mohli dat neco k snidani.

Plavba jezerem a pak kanalem byla naprosto skvela, protoze stale bylo co pozorovat. Snazila jsem se najit ty krokodyly co tam pry jsou, ale at jsem do dalekohledu koukala, jak koukala, tak jsem nic nevidela, takze asi nekde spali a nebo pekne kecaji. Bohuzel ani mistni opicky se na nas neprihopkaly k brehum podivat, takze jsme pozorovali uzasnou floru destneho pralesa, ktery se na obou strana rozprostira, a zvlastni druhy ptaku, ktere nas temer celou dobu nasledovali. Bylo prijemne teplo a tak cas prijemne utikal a stale se bylo na co divat.

Kolem 15.hodiny jsme zacali pomalu vplouvat do dalsiho zdymadla a po pul hodine jsme dopluli do poslednich zdymadel a jen asi hodina nas delila od Ticheho ocenu. Spolecne s Jean a Trevorem – coz jsou nasi pratele od stolu -  jsme se rozhodli, ze je ten vstup do Ticheho ocenu treba oslavit, takze jsme sehnali lahev sampanskeho a chlebicky a sli zbytek pruplavby pozorovat od nas z balkonu. To byl naprosto skvely napad protoze ze zadi, kde se nas pokoj nachazi, vse bylo skvele videt a mohli jsme si to hezky vychutnat, jak sampanske tak pro nas vsechny poprve Tichy ocean. Dokonce jsem mela inspiraci, tak jsem vymyslela novy koktejl a pojmenovala jsem ho Panama koktejl, takze vam ho az se vratime namicham, jen doufam, ze to uz nekdo predemnou nevymyslel.

Po seste hodine vecer jsme proplouvali kolem Panam City a bylo uzasne ho z dalky pozorovat velkem mnozstvi budov a mrakodrapu, snad bych ani takove mesto ve Stredni Americe necekala. Panama byla jednu dobu nejbohatsi zeme sveta, takze se asi neni cemu divit, co dokazali postavit. Vsechni pomocne lode co s nami cestovali nas v tuto chvili opustili a my jsme se mohli vydat napric Tichym oceanem a vzhuru dalsim dobrodruzstvim, podel prehu Panamy, Kostariky, Nikaragui, El Salvadoru a Guatemaly az doplujeme do nasi dalsi zastavky, coz bude Akapulko v Mexiku.

Nas vecer byl velmi poklidny, a mozna se nam ani moc nechtelo jit na oficialni veceri do restaurace Meridian ale jen do Belvederu, kde si muzete z bufetu vybrat to co chcete, a je to take rychlejsi. Ale nakonec jsme se rozhodli, ze preci nemuze nase spolustolovniky zklamat a je vzdy super si na konci dne u vecere delit zazitky z celeho dne. Nastesti dnesni oblekaci kod byl “Smart-Casual”, coz je neco jako normalni obleceni, muzou byt i slusne jeany a  kosile s kratkym rukavem pro pany, damy by meli mit nejakou halenku a platene kalhoty, ci opet slusne jeany, takze nam stacilo vzit na sebe jen neco normalniho a mohli jsme se vydat na veceri. Ta byla jako vzdy nasproste jedinecna, nechapeme jak dokazou kazdy den mit tolik veci na vyber a nikdy se to neopakuje. Trochu mi ten styl co tady maji, pripomina restaraci Brabander v Brne, jen ten vyber tady je daleko sirsi, nekdy ani nechapu, kde vsechny ty variace jidel berou.

Tentokrat jsme se po veceri vydali hned spat, protoze po dni plnem zazitku a slunce jsme byli radne unaveni. Tak to byl nas pruplav Panamskym kanalem, tak snad mate alespon nejakou predstavu jak to probihalo, a pokud se nam podari, tak v San Francisku nahrajeme i nejake kratke video, protoze materialu mame opravdu spousty a jsem rada, ze jsme tu video kameru koupili, protoze preci jen nejake veci jen fotak nezachyti.

Aruba

Just like when I fly, I love to listen to what the captain has to say when he does his daily announcements at 8am.  Today was no different, except that we had arrived into Aruba early morning, and he was imparting some information that was interesting to me, so I can say that the captain got me out of bed this morning.  We've fallen in to the bad habit of having a big night the night before we arrive in port, which means we go ashore with a sore head.  Last night was no exception, thanks to Jean and Trevor, but the hangover wasn't anything to speak off; so we were up and breakfast complete by 9 (that's pretty good by our standards).  

Side note: My "full stop" key has stopped working, so please excuse the intermittent poor punctuation!

Aruba looked instantly inviting; When you've spent a few days at sea, and your cabin is on the aft of the ship, coming down to breakfast (or up in our case) you always seem to be surprised when you look out of the windows to see land; On one side of the ship we had a natural harbour wall of marsh land, the other was a very inviting small town, very dutch in look, multi-coloured buildings with stepped roofs.  The strange but very good thing about Aruba is that you basically dock in the town centre;  You have this huge great ship, then a couple of roads away, the small red roofs of the main high street; It's a strange sight, that I failed miserably to capture on camera. 

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We had a free morning, no excursions booked, so decided to join our friends on a taxi tour of the island ending up at a hotel on the beach;  All beaches on Aruba are public, so we could arrive at a hotel (in our case The Hyatt in the "High Rise" area of hotels) and simply pretend that we were wealthy enough to stay there, using "their" beach, and their facilities;  I felt a bit cheeky, but that's just my british-ness coming out, and Katie soon put a stop to that!  This is where the picture at the top of this post was taken;  It was a lovely beach, with typically turquoise waters, and some random sea-weed further out from the coast which caused Katie to squeal when it touched her!  The hotel/resort was great actually, although not sure I could stay there for any length of time, partly due to there being nothing but sun and sand, and partly because it seems Aruba is popular with guests from the States.  Actually, Aruba in general is a little more US friendly and a little less Caribbean than average;  It's a bit more polished than the other islands we've visited on our holidays, less burnt out cars and unkempt grass verges than other islands, and the dutch influence is obvious in the buildings and the obsession for reclaiming the land.  It's not a bad thing.  So a couple of hours of sitting on the beach and swimming in the sea was enough, and we had to get back to the ship for our organised afternoon excursion anyway.

A quick lunch back on board, and then out again to join the coach tour. Hmmm. We should have known better.  The tour consisted of a view of the island, which we'd had in the morning, but also a trip on a semi submersible boat to look at a ship wreck and some fish.  The guided tour was fine, but the semi submersible was a disaster.  Apart from the fact that it made me feel ill, there were no fish and the ship wreck was barely visible.  Still the tour lady tried her best to make it interesting, it wasn't.  I found more joy in exploring the menus of our camcorder than making myself ill by staring out the windows into the murk.  While the tour guide tried to make out she was seeing lots of interesting things, Katie, not being British, was perfectly ok shouting out such things as "Are you on the same tour?" and "You'll see more fish by looking at the wall chart" which was designed to help us identify the numerous species we were bound to see.  We decided to call it a day.  When we reached dry land, I fained illness (not entirely untrue) and we dropped out of the rest of the bus tour, and sat in a local beach bar with Strawberry Daiquiris and Pina Coladas on the table and fish swimming beneath the wooden decking. It was infinitely more enjoyable.  

A quick taxi back to the port with some time for postcards and shopping, then back on board;  So far, the disembarkation and embarkation process has been relatively smooth;  You can imagine that with some 2000 passengers and 800 crew to clear immigration at every port it could take some time, but so far (I say so far because I think it will get more involved at some ports) all we have to do is scan our ships card on the barcode readers on the way off and again when we board, along with a quick airport style x-ray scan of our bags, no passports needed;  The whole process, including tours appears to us as extremely well organised;

The general consensus at the dinner table this evening is that Aruba is well liked amongst most people;  It has all the nice beaches and relaxed atmosphere of other Caribbean islands, but also some smart hotels, good shopping, and is pretty to look at. The Dutch and American influence is easy to see and feel, especially in the wallet!

Barbados in English a take hezky cesky!

As we were a bit lazy in last few days and did not find much time to put down our thoughts and comments, I would like to go back to Thursday, 13^th January 2011, when we finally dock at Barbados after 8 full days at the sea. We arrived around 7am and quickly run to the balcony, check what is actually out there. It was a port, not much to see really, but we were excited anyway. We got ready quickly, as we had an organized trip booked with P&O. After fast breakfast, we packed our bag for a day, put on our swim suits and got to Globe theatre where we were asked to meet other fellow passengers who were booked on the same tour.

Poslednich par dni jsme byli trochu lini, co se psani tyce, takze jsem se jeste chtela vratit ke ctvrtku, 13. ledna 2011, kdy jsme konecne po 8mi dnech plavby dorazili do naseho prvniho pristavu Barbadosu. Prijeli jsme do pristavu kolem sedme hodiny rano a jak jsme si uvedomili, ze jsme se prestali hybat – lod prestala vydavat zvuky pohybu -  rychle jsme vybehli na balkon, abychom zjistili, kde ze jsme to vlastne pristali. Pristav vypadal nic moc na prvni pohled, ale stejne jsme byli velmi nateseni a chteli jsme vystoupit co nejdrive. Rychle jsme se vypravili, protoze jsem meli zarezervovany vylet jiz dopredu pres P&O. Po rychle snidani jsme si pobalili veci, vzali plavky a sesli do 2. patra do divadla Globe, kde jsme se meli potkat s ostatnimi ucastniky tohoto vyletu.

After being marked with sandy numbers 8, I guess so we can recognize who is who, we disembarked Arcadia for a very first time. The procedure was really quite easy, we just had to scan our ship card on one of the Symbol scanners and off we were through the ship terminal and boarding the bus was a very short ride. The ride took no longer then 5 minutes and believe it or not, here we were boarding another boat. Well, this time only catamaran, which looked very inviting. Together with about 50 other “friends” from our ship, we boarded the catamaran for our day away adventure.

Pote co nam bylo prideleno cislo osm piskove barvy, asi se chteli ujistit, ze budeme vedet, kdo je kdo a ke ktere exkurzi patri, jsme se poprve vylodili z Arkadie. Proces to byl celkem snadny, jen jsme museli oskenovat carovy kod nasi lodni karty za pomoci jednoho ze Symbol skeneru a uz jsme byli venku. Museli jsme projit lodnim terminalem a nastoupit do autobusu. Asi po 5 minutach jizdy jsme byli na miste, a verte ci neverte, jsme byli pripraveni nalodit se na dalsi lod, no spise lodku, ci takzvany katamaran, ktery  vypadal celkem lakave. Spolecne s asi 50 “prateli” z nasi lode, byl katamaran vypraven nas dovezt za nasim dnesnim dobrodruzstvim na karibskem mori.

The boat had a captain and other 5 members of the crew who were native Barbabadosians. We head off to the sea with the boat’s bar serving free non-alcoholic drinks of your choice. Our first stop was a place about an hour up the coast where we should be able to snorkel with big sea turtles. The crew passed everyone a snorkel and a vest; both had to be worn at all the times. The vest is great it helps you float at the top so you don’t have to worry about swimming to much. Actually when you snorkel, you should be only using your hands and drag your feet gently behind you. This ensures you don’t disturb the fish and you sink nicely with the slow motion environment. It is really great fun, and I would recommend it to anyone, even to people who are scared of fish like me!! J

Lod mela kapitana a dalsich 5 clenu posadky, ktery vsichni byli rodily Barbadosane. Vydali jsme se na cestu a bar katamaranu byl otevren pro nealkoholicke napoje zdarma dle vaseho vyberu. Nase prvni zastavka asi po hodine cesty bylo misto, kde by melo byt mozno se potapet a snochlovat s velkymi morskymi zelvami. Posadka vsem rozdala snorchly a vesty, a byli jsme upozorneni, ze obe musime mit na sobe po celou dobu co budeme v mori. Vesta ma velmi dobry vyznam a pomuze vam jen se nadnaset po hladine, takze se muzete venovat tomu co je pod vodou a nezabyvat se plavanim. V podstate, kdyz snorchlujete, tak byste meli pouzivat k plavani jen ruce a nohy jen zlehkat tahnout za sebou. Tento ladny pohyb zaruci to, ze si nevyplasite vsechny ryby v okoli a lepe tak splynene s podvodnim svetem, kde vse ubihave velmi pomalu. Snorchlovani je skvele a vsem doporucuji, je to i pro ty z vas co se trochu boji rybek jako ja!! Ony vubec nedotknou vaseho tela, i kdyz jsou hrozne blizko, tak se vzdycky vyhnou.

We went of the boat using side leaders straight into nicely cooling water. We were asked to follow the guys from the crew, who had some turtles’ favorite bites so they can lure them towards us. It did not take long and we saw the first one, massive big fellow, to appear and started to swim towards us and then another one and after a while few more. Then we even saw a baby turtle which was instead of about meter long only about 50 cm! It was really magic and they were just swimming below us, a few centimeters and you could touch them. We enjoyed about 40 minutes swimming with these magical animals and it was truly an amazing experience and I think we were very lucky to have so many.

Slezli jsme z lodi po postranich zebricich, primo do prijemne chladive vody. Potom jsme nasledovali posadku z lodi, ktera s sebou mela oblibene zelvi pamlsky, aby je mohla nalakat bliz k nam. Netrvalo to dlouho a za chvili jsme videli  prvni, obrovska zelva, ktera plavala smerem k nam a pak za chvili dalsi, a dalsi a pak jeste nekolik dalsich super bozich morszkych zelv! Pak jsme dokonce videli i male zelvi miminko, ktere melo misto metru je asi 50cm! Byl to opravdku kouzelny zazitek, plavali kolem nas a pod nami jen nekolik centimetru, az jsem se jedne mohla dotknout. Stravili jsme asi 40 minut plavanim s temito opravdu magickymi zviratky a byl to zcela jedinecny zazitek. Myslim, ze jsem meli velke stesti, ze jsme jich videli tolik. Bylo to jen asi 200 metru od brehu. Zelvy maji radi teple karibske more a jeste radeji lidi. Protoze kdyz pripluji lidi, tak s nimi pripluji i dobroty a ony se pak odvdeci tim, ze s lidmi plavou. Myslim, ze je to celkem dobra symbioza!

Our second snorkeling stop was just next 15 minutes away. On the way there we saw about 50 flying fish. They are native to the Caribbean Sea and they can fly up to 50 meters before they dive in again. This stop was hiving with fish Small, Tiny, Big, Huge, Massive. You name it and it was there! A Crew has some nice white rolls to keep the fish interested and I must say it was after while just too many fish at the same spot for me, so I headed back to the ship. Chris was just fine, he continued swimming with fish and snorkeling above a lovely coral reef. In the meantime I found some food on board like banana bread, white bread rolls and I also secretly smuggled on board brown bread roll and a blueberry muffin! So, this was my time of joy to feed all my fish in that sea. It was a great fun. Especially when people started returning to the boat and I was throwing the bread near them, they truly had a wonderful hands-on swimming with fish experience. I saved the big pieces for when Chris was getting back to he had his special fish bath. There were lots of searget mayor fish –the ones we have on our picture from Saint Lucia - so Chris truly felt like at home!

Nase druha zastavka byla jen asi 15 minut cesty. Kdyz jsme pluli, najednou jsme videli asi 50 letajich ryb, ktere se najedou podel lodi vynorili. Ziji celkem bezne v Karibskem mori a kdyz se vynori, tak mohou letet az 50 metru, nez se opet ponori zpet. Tato zastavka mela obrovske mnozstvi ryb. Male, malinke, velke, obrovske, masivni! Jen si reknete a verte, ze byla tam. Teda ne Nemo, ten zije jen v koralovem mori na brezich Australie, takze na toho si budete jeste muset chvilku pockat. Posadka opet mela nejakou dobroty, housticky, aby rybickam trochu zprijemnila zivot. Musim rict, ze po chvilce to bylo az prilis mnoho ryb na jednom miste a prilis blizko me, takze jsem plavala zpet na lod. Chris si to ale uzival, plaval dal s rybama a snorchloval na krasnym koralovym utesem. Ja jsem zatim na katamaranu nasla nejake jidlo jako bananovy chleb, bile housky a take jsem propasovala v nasi tasce celozrnou housku a boruvkovy muffin. Take ted byla moje chvile uzivat si pohled na rybky z lodi a krmit je. Byla to super zabava. Obzvlast kdyz se lide zacali vracet zpatky na lod a ja jsem hodila kousek housky pobliz jich, meli opravdu skvely zazitek pri proplouvani jejich hejny. Setrila jsem si ty nejlepsi kousky dobrot az kdyz se vracel Chris, takze pobliz lodi mel pak specialni rybi koupel. Bylo tam mnoho tech zlutuch rybek s cernymi pruhy ( ja nevim jak se cesky jmenujou Searget Mayor ryby – sezrant major mozna? ) – ty jak mame doma na nasem obrazu co jsme si privezli ze Svate Lucie -  takze Chris se opravdu v jejich pritomnosti mohl citit jako doma!

Everyone was getting hungry after two sessions of heavy snorkeling. The crew prepared for us a delicious Caribbean lunch on board and also opened the free bar. This time with offer of all sorts of rum punches beer and wine. This was exactly how you would imagine your perfect working Thursday in the middle of January! After the Caribbean feast, we were told we can now swim to the beach – which was about 150 meters away. Nicely rum punched we could not resist to that turquoise water and white sandy beach in the distance and slipped to the sea -  this time without our safety vest of course. It was really great just sit on quite private beach and enjoy the unique atmosphere of Barbados. Unfortunately after a short while it was time to swim back to the boat and head back to the port.

Vsichni zacinali mit celkem hlad to takovem narocnem snorchlovani, takze posadka pripravila skvely karibsky obed a otevrela bar. Tentokrat krome nealka byli v nabidce ruzne karibske rumove punche, pivo a vino. Bylo to uplne tak, jak by jste si predstavili svuj idealni pracovni ctvrtek uprosted ledna, proste uz to nemohlo byt lepsi. Po karibske hostine, kdy nam kapitan rekl, ze ty ryby co jsme jedli byli ty letajici ryby, ale ja myslim, ze jen kecal, protoze na tech letajich teda moc co jist neni, nam rekli, ze muzeme si jit zaplavat a projit se po plazi, ktera byla asi 150 metru od lodi. S plnymi brisky a s nekolika rumovymi punci, jsme ani tak nemohli odolat krasne tyrkysove vode a bile piscite plazi a seskocili jsme do chladiveho more  - tentokrat ovsem bez plovacich vest. Po chvilce plavani to bylo super sedet na celkem soukrome plazi a uzivat si atmosfery Barbadosu. Bohuzel po nejake dobe jsme se museli z plazi rozloucit – nasbirala jsem si par muslicek a jeden zkamenely koral – a plavali jsme zpet k nasi lodi, ktera se vydala zpet na cestu do pristavu.

In the rhythms of the Caribbean music and still drinking free drinks from the bar we slowly landed back to the catamaran port. The bus took us back to the port terminal where we still had some time to write a few postcards, enjoy very local beer Banks and shop for a Caribbean shirt for Chris and Dress for me. As we felt a bit underdressed for the Tropical night, we are now ready for the next one near the Hawaii.

Za rytmu karibske hudby a popijeni drinku z baru jsem pristali zpet v malem pristavu. Autobus nas dovezl zpet do naseho lodniho terminalu, kde jsem meli jeste cas napsat par pohledu, ochutnat nefalsovane Barbadoske pivo Banks a koupit karibskou kosili pro Chrise a modre karibske saty pro me. Byli jsme trochu nevybaveni pro Tropickou noc, ktera byla na lodi pred nekolika dny, tazke ted mame uz ty spravne oblecky, az bude dalsi karibska noc nekde pobliz Havajskych ostrovu!

It was a truly a wonderful day on this tropical island of Barbados. We snorkeled with turtles and thousands of fish, tasted very good local rum and beer, made some new Australian friends, met the couple who got married on the ship the other day and ended up talking for ages with them, enjoyed the sea and just had a fantastic day in the Caribbean paradise. It felt a bit sad to see it disappear as we were standing on the top deck, swaying into the rhythms of the sail away songs, but we knew we still have many days to come and enjoy and decided we should finally properly relax and start feeling like on holiday!!

Byl to skutecn uzasny den na tropickem ostrove Barbadosu. Sice jsme nevideli mnoho z krajiny -  jen to co bylo videt z lodi – ale pozdeji jsem zjistili, ze ani tam ve vnitrozemi neni moc o co stat. Snorchlovali jsme s zelvami a tisice rybickami, ochutnali jsme mistni rum a pivo, seznamili jsme se z australskymi prateli, potkali se s temi lidmi, co meli na lodi 11. ledna svatbu a bavili jsme se s nimi hodnou chvili, uzivali jsme si more a meli paradni den v karibskem raji. Bylo to trochu smutne, kdyz jsme stali na vrchu Arcadie a houpali se do rytmu picnicek, ktere nas odvazeli zase dal a nas prave objeveny ostrov mizel v dalce. Ale mame jeste mnoho dnu, kdy budeme objevovat nova a dalsi mista, takze nebyl velky duvod smutnit. Rozhodli jsme se,ze je treba si uzivat kazdy den a vsechny dny a ze je treba konecne zacit poradne relaxovat a zacit se citit jako na prazdninach!!